Apparatus for carbureting air



T. F. WILLIAMS. D. W.COY, AND H. B. PRUDEN.

APPARATUS FOR CARBURETTING AIR.

APPUCATION man AuG.2s.1918.

T" F. WILLIAMS. D. W. COY, AND H. BQPRUDEN.

APPARATUS FQR CARBUHETTING AIR.

APPLICATION H LE Aunzs. 191s. A l

5 SHEETS-sainz.v

` Patented Mar. 14

T. F,.- .wlLLlA-Ms, n. w. CDY, AND H. B. PRUUEN.

APPARATUS FOR CARBU'HETTING AIR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.,26. I9I.

Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

h v Nw,

T. F. WILLIAMS, D. W. COY, AND H. B. PRUDEN.

APPARATUS FOR CARBUHETTING AIR.

APPUCATLON FILED AUG.26, l9| l L 1,409,325. Panted Mar. '14, 1922.

5 sHE'ETs-SHEET 4.

` waz/7J T. F. WILLIAMS,l D. w.jcoY, AND H. PRUDEN.

APPARATUS FOR CARBURETTING AIR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.2G, 19H3.

Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

@Mmmm Mmmm www www Wm m UNITED STATES rarer orrice.

THOMAS II.. WILLIAMS, DONALD W. COIL-AND HARRY B. PRUDEN, orY CHICAGO', ILLI- Nois, AssieNoRs To POWDERDD COAL ENGINEERING AND EQUIPMENT COMPANY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or DELAWARE. f

APPARATUS CARBURETIG AIR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patlted' M31'. 14, 1922.l y

Application iled August 26, 1918. Serial No. 251,582. *l

To all 107mm t may concern: .Y he it known that we, THOMAS F. VIL- L'IAMs, a subJect of Great Britain, DONALD lV.. Cor, and HARRY B. PRUDEN, Citizens of the United States, all residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Carbureting AAir,'of which the following is a specication. Y l y.

Prior to lour invention air charged with powdered coal has been used as a fuel in various types of furnaces to which it is particularly adapted. It has been found diffi-` cult or impossible, however, to so regulate the air fand coal and the mixture thereof as to produce a slow flazyiiame of large volume in which combustion sets in close to the burner and continues throughout the body of mixed air and coal so that combustion is practically completed within a relatively short distance ofthe burner; and it hasfurther been'found difficult or impossible in the previously known apparatus for burning powdered coal to maintain the properV proportion of fuel and air while varying the volume of the mixture accordingtothe varying demands made upon the apparatus. It is the purpose of our invention to provide an apparatus for mixing the powdered fuel and air inv such manner that when properly fed to the furnace it will produce a slow lazy flame suitable for a greatvariety of uses, and which will maintain the proper mixture of air and fuel though the amount of the mixture varies within wide limits.

In the accompanying drawings we have shown a preferred embodiment of our, invention and in the following` specification specifically describe the same. It is to` be understood, however, that the specific disclosure is for the purpose of exemplification only, and that the scope of the invention` is defined in the following claims in which we have endeavored to distinguish itfroni the prior art so far as known ,to us without, however, relinquishinf;- or abandoningany portion or feature thereof.

Referring now to the drawings, Figf 1 shows in side elevation, partly in section, aA

preferred embodiment of oui` invention; Fig. 2 a plan thereof; Fig. 3 va vertical section of a portionof the apparatus onV the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. e a vertical section on an enlarged scale. ofla portion ofthe ap-- paratus, parts being shown Y in elevation;

andfFig. V5 an` enlarged vertical sectionof av detail, parts beingv broken away to; permit a larger scale to be used. i Y 1 I Each part is identiiied by vthe same reference character wherever itoccurs throughout the several views. f A

Referring to/Fig.: l lthe different mechanisms vconstituting the carbureting apparatus are preferably mounted on acommon 'base 6,l and enclosed, except'for the carbu'- reter proper 7, :in -a casing Sithus constituting a lcompact' unit which may be transportedias an'entirety and set/up where required for use. AThe apparatuscoinprises a fuel chamber?) to which the powderedfuel is supplied in bulk, acontinuousfeed mechf furnishedto the mixture bringing the proportion .of airup to that considered most 7V in which an additionall supplyof air is desirable for producing the particular charanism 10 .by which the fuel is continuously fed to a chamber V1 1 where Yit isV mixed with the Vfirst proportion Of air,and a! carbureter tomatic regulating device 15 by which the v currents kdriving therespectiveL motors are Y sol regulated as'to give theproperfproportion of airk and powdered fuel within a wide range of supplyfofvthe'combustible mixture.

The fuel chamber9is supported from thel ,Y

baseren a suitable standard 16 land isp'providedwith a collar 17 outside the casi-ng and communicating with VsaidA chamber,`.said col-` lar being; `preferably so designed -as to receive the package or container of powdered fuel which is applied kthereto in such manner I Y that the fuel in the container feeds continuously into the chamber 9 untilsaid container is emptied; A conduit 18 is cast integral Vwith chamber 9 and extends horizontally therefrom to the mixing` chamber. 11'; Y A

screw conveverfll extends through the con` chamberfl and to; the left ofthe same,

ing it. As seen more clearlyin Fig. '5 the shaft are covered by a cast metal housing 22 as seen in Fig.' 3, and outside the chamber 9VA l is provided with a worm wheel 20 for drivworm wheel and the end 21fof theconveyer duit andlithrough thebottom of the fuel chamber through which the shaft extends andsuitably secured to the wall of said chamber. Casting 22 comprises a neck-24 intermediate the worm wheel chamber 25 and flange 26 by which the casting is secured to the fuel chamber wall. Within the neck is a packing 27 of compressible material and a washer 28 bears on said packing and is forced against the same by a spring 29 intermediate said washer and a screw sleeve 30 adjusted into the neck 24. The sleeve is held in adjusted positionby a iinger 31 secured to the housing by a screw 32 and'extending into one of a plurality of notches 33 formed on the flanged end of the sleeve. Said sleeve also forms a seat for a roller bearing 34 for the shaft 21. rlhe housing is provided with an inspection yopening k35 and cover plate 36.

A. worm sha't't 37 is suitably journaled in the housing and meshes with said worin wheel and outside the housing is connected to and driven by the armature of the electric motor 13. See Fig. 2. Obviously, the motor through lthe connections indicated drives the .conveyerscrew 19.

lThe chamber 11 is in the particular embodiment ot the invention shown formed ot two conical castings 38, 39, united at'their bases by flanges 40, 41, on the respective cast` ings, casting 38 being connected to and communicating with conduit 18, and casting 39 comprising an enlarged conduit 42 by which the primary mixture of coal and air is conveyed to theV opening 43 in the main casing or cover 8 from which said mixture is led'by 'conduit 44 to the Ycarbureter 7 to which ret-` erence has been made. The casting 38 is also formed with a nipple 45 which receives the end of the pipe 46, the other end ot which is secured to and communicates with the casing 47 of the tan at 48, see Fig. 3. The construction of the mixer 11 is best seen in Fig. 5.V 'The opening 49 through which the casting 38 communicates with the conveyer is shouldered at 50 to receive the flange 51 of a spout 52 by which the fuel supplied by the screw vconveyor is carried to the center ofthe mixing 'chamber at 53. The shaft 54 of the conveyer extends through the mixing chamber 11 and through an opening 55 in the wall thereof and through aV packing chamber 56, the opening 55 vbeing' packed by a compressible packing 5T which is maintained lunder compression by washer 58 and spring 59. The outer end of the spring 59 abuts against the adjustable threaded cap 50 by which the pressure oi the spring may be adjusted, said cap being locked in adjusted positionby a screw -61 extending through the flange thereof. The reduced end 62 ot' the sha-tt .extends through said cap at 63 and y drives a rotary pump 64 by which the lubrieating oil is circulated in .a manner to be presently described. iithin the mixing chamber 1l the shaft carriesV a fora-minous basket or screen 65 of the general shape 0f the mixing chamber but of sufficiently small size to provide clearance. Said screen is supported by arms 66 from a sleeve 67.Y surrounding said shatt and clamped thereto by a `clamp collar :68. The screen is also formed with a reduced neck 69 which surrounds the spout 53 so that the latter discharges into the basket within the mixing chamber. Thus the screen receives a continuous stream of fuel from the chamber 9, and the mixing chamber 11 a continuous influx of air from the tan, the latter penetrating the screen and taking up the powdered fuel as fast as it is ted and conveying it out of the screen and mixing chamber through the conduit 42. From the'conduits 42 and 43 vthe primary mixture of air and powdered fuel is discharged into the carbureter 7 Where it re-L ceives an additional supply of air Jfrom the branch conduit 69a. The latter opens from 1 conduit 46 as shown in (F ig. 3. The specific matter oli' the carbureter 7- is not material for ythe purpose of'th'is application but we have .shown it as of the construction shown in our pending application for Patent No. 124,692, tiled October 9, 1916, as a renewal o'l application No. 70,832. v

The fan 12 by which the air is furnished maybe of any suitable or desired construction and is driven by theinotor 14y as heretofore stated. Y

We have adverted to the desirability ot maintaining constant the proportion of powdered fuel to air, but it has-been found in practice that this proportion cannot be maintained where the supply of carbureted air is tobe varied by maintaining the relative speeds of the endless conveyor and tan. in other words 'it is necessary not only to. vary the speeds off fan and conveyor respec= tively, but to vary themvwith respect to veach other and it is necessary to delicately and accurately control their respective speeds it the composition of the carbureted air isV to be maintained constant.

taining the desired ratio ci speed of the rmotors and said means may be operated'by hand or if desired automatically controlled according to the temperature or other condition to be maintained by the burners to which the fuel is supplied. VThe.mechanism For this purpose l we provide means for automatically main.

for accomplishing this is best shown in Figs.-

` are mounted on the Vlevers tively, which levers Yare pivotedat V92, 93 to so. mounted as to be adjustablevertically and longitudinally according to the volume of carbureted air required. For this purpose the ends of the bar are pivotedat 73, 74;. in pin and slot connections to Vbell crank levers 75, 76respectively by lpin and slot connections which permit a slight movementv of the pivots longitudinally ofthe levers, and said levers arerespectively pivoted at 77, 78 to the frame work of the apparatus.4

By reason of the pinzand slot .connections the bar may be given a right line longitudinal movement and for this purpose the rear edge ofthe, bar is guided by rollers 7 9, 8O against which thevbar Ais yieldingly pressed as will presentlylbe seen. Thus the barmay be said to float withrespect to the levers 75, 7 6. The movablexouter elements of the respective `rheostats are connected to rollers 82, 83 which respectively bear on the longi tudinal movable bar theedge 81 of which.

is formedv to suitably adjust the respective rheostats-through said rollers. The rollers 90, 911respecthe frame and formed with fingers 96,. 97

between which the spring 98 is compressed to force-the rollers into contact with the edge ofthe bar -72..- The axles 94, 95 ofthe rollers extend beyond the bifurcated levers 90, 91 andare engaged by the yokes or lforks 84, 85 respectively.'` The yokes are adjust-v able upon the shaks 88, 89 yof. the outer membersA of .therespective rheostats by means of the set nuts 86, 87. cfThe yrheostat is connected in the r circuit of the motor driving the screwconveyor by. terminals 7 0a, 70b in an obvious `manner and similarly' the rheostat 71 is connected. in the supply cir-.

cuitv of the motor which drives the, Vfan by terminals 71, 71". The edge of .the rod 72 at the portions 99, 100 -thereof which engage the respective rollers 82, 83 is cammedor cut away to a Yshape lto operate the rollers as the rod descends in a direction lto compress the respective rheostats and so'increase the current through the respective motors. The edge ofit'he rod is.not,.phow ever, of suchshapeas to move the rollers inwardly to the same degree but theportions thereofV traveled by the respective rollers are so shaped as to regulate the resistance of the rheostats and hence the current-through' lubrication.

is urged by spring 101 in a direction to lower the4 rod, the spring being attached at one end 102-to a stationary part of the framework and at the other end to a bolt 103 which is adjustablyxmounted in .the lever at 104 and may be adjusted by the thumb nut 105 to vary they tension of the springs The bell crank 76 kwhich is pivoted to the lower end i of the rod. is likewise Vunder `spring pressure but in the opposite direction. 'F or this purpose a link 106 is pivotedat 107 ,to bell crank 76 and: at its other end to a bell crank 107EL to whichV is attached one end of spring 108.v The other end offsaid spring is attached to an internally threaded sleeve 1092 which receives'an adjustingV screw 110. Said screw may be turned to adjust the tension on the spring. by means of a handwheel 111' connected to said screwfoutside the casing.A TheY particular Amedium Vfor 'automatically actuating the regulating rod a'wdepends upon the use toA which the apparatus is p'ut. Where the generation of` steam is concerned one manner of effecting. the regulation and-Y that shown 4in `the drawings utilizes a bellows 112 which is enclosedin a casing 113 and connected by -rod 114`tol the lower end of the regulating bar.l The boiler pressure is. in communication with Ythe "bellows 112 through the steam pipe 115 which communi- Vcates vwith .the bellows at 116.*Obviously as the lpressure rises the bello-ws expands raising the rod and correspondingly releas- Aing the pressure on therheostats, thereby increasing the resistance and loweringthe speed.l of the motors.. As the pressure falls the Ybellows Vcollapses correspondingly, dropy pingthe rod, reducingthe 'resistance and speeding up the motors. `bviously the connections of the ,bell cranks to the rod must vbe slightly slotted vor ,elongated as shown in order to provide for anfarcuate vmovement of the bell cranks anda straight-- line movement ofthe rod. At124 we have indicated a backingfor a switchboard;V

At an earlier portion of the specification we Vhave referred tothe pump 64. by which the oil iscirculated. The suction sdeof this pump is connected by pipe'125to anfoil reservoir 126- and the exhaustside of .the

pump is connected by a pipe 127to branches leading; to the-various mechanismsrequiring Branchr 128 leads to the housing or chamber 56 which is kept v`fullfof oil, thereby lubricating the shaft bearing 129 therein and keeping" thepacking satu-l rated. From chamber 56 the oil is lreturnedl byfpipe 130 to the oil reservoir. branchl31 leads from the main 127 tothe casing 25 which contains thel gearing for driving the screw conveyor and from said casingt-he pipe 132 leads to a return main 133 by which the oil'reaches the reservoir. If desired the bearings of the motors may be supplied with oil through the supply main Another e 127 and the oil returned .byl returnmain 133, the connections for this purpose being show-n at 134C and 135.

Our invention provides an entirely automatic, or if desired manually operated, system by which a burner or series of burners may be supplied with carbureted air, the proportions of the ingredients being maintained constant irrespectivevof the quantity, whereby the character of the flame or flames may be maintained unchanged notwithstanding the fact that the heat units may be variedgreatly. Obviously the apparatus is not limited to the maintenance of a particular degree of pressure though it is well adapted for this purpose. For example, it may equally well be used .for the maintenance of a constant temperature in ka building'or elsewhere, vthe regulating bar in this case being actuated by a suitable thermostat, the constructionof which instrument is well known. Again the broad principle involved in our invention is obviously applicable to the. control of motors other than electric. Thus if fluid motors are employed mechanism for controlling the flow ofthe fluid would be substituted for the rheostats described. By'our invention also it is pos-v sible to yclosely control the character ofthe llames produced by the mixture, and this is of particular importa-nce'where the apparatus is used for metallurgical purposes for many of which the chemical characterV ofthe flame reducing or oxidizing is important.

We claim:

l. In a device of thel class described, aV mixing chamber, means for feeding air in' variable quantities thereto, means for feeding powdered material in variable quantities thereto, separate motors for the respective feeding means, means common to both said motors for varying the speed thereof in accordance with the demands on the device and differentially with respect to each other.

2. In a device of the class described, a mixing chamber, a blowei vfor supplying the same with air,a motor for operating the blower, a continuously operating conveyor for supplying the mixing chamber with fuel,

. motors, and common means increasing and diminishing the-supply of a motor for operating the conveyor, means for supplying power to the respective for differentially powerto the motors.

'3. In a -device of the class described, a mixing chamber, a blower for supplying the saine with air, a continuously operating conveyor for supplying the chamber with powdered fuel, a motor for 'driving the blower, a motor for driving the conveyor, independentI means for controlling the v'supply of power to the respective motors, a common movable element operating differentially on the respective means for controlling the supply of power and means for adjusting the last said means according to the amount of mixture to be produced.

4. In a device of the class described, av

mixing chamber, a blower 'for supplying the same with air, a continuously operating conveyor for supplying the chamber with pow-l dered fuel, motors for the Ablower-and conveyor respectively, independently adjustable means for controlling the supply of power to .the respective motors, and a movable element common to said adjustable means for differentially regulating the same.

5. In a device Yof the classi described, a mixing chamber, a blower for supplying the same with air, a conveyor for continuously. supplying lthe chamber with powdered'- fuel, electric'motors for .the blofwer and conveyorA respectively, rheostats controlling the supply of current to the' respectivefmotors,.a regulating bar commento the rheostats and adapted to simultaneously and'differentially adjust the same, and means for moving the bar in accordance. with vtheamount Y.of mixture to bedelivered.

6. In a device-'of the class described, a mixing chamber, a blower, .a fuel conveyor, electric .motors for the blower-.and'conveyo-rl respectively, rheostats for Athe respective motors the resistance'of which y'is varied according to pressure, a movable element cominon to the rheostats formed witheccentr-ic surfaces differentially controlling `the f pressure on the rheostafts`, andmeans'foi-.moving said element in accordance with lthe demand for the mixtureof air and fuel.

7.-In a devicel of he class described, a blower, a continuously operating. conveyor, a mixingchamber to vwhich said blower and conveyor feed, electric motors for the blower and conveyor respectively, compression rheo-` stats for controlling the supply of current to the respective motors, said rheostats comprising movable means for cont-rolling the pressure. thereon, a bar common Yto said movable inean's'of the -respective rheostats and having differentially cammed surfaces for engaging .the respective movable means, and means for moving said element in'accordance with the amount-of mixture desired. Y

8. In a devicefor supplying a boiler furnace with carbureted air, a .inixiiiglchamben a continuously opera-ting conveyor for supplying the mixingchamberwith powdered fuel, 'a blower' for supplying ther-mixing chamberfwith air, motors for drivingl ytheV blower and conveyor respectively, means for controllingthe power deli'veredlto the respective motors comprising a movable element provided with differential surfaces ,controlling the supply of power to the respective motors, and means operated by lthe boiler pressure for adjusting said element.v

9. In a device of the class described,`a mixing chamber, a conveyor for continuously conveying powdered fuel thereto, a

IIO

blower for delivering a continuous stream Vof air to the chamber, electric motors for operatin the blower' and conveyor respectively, r eostats for the respective motors, means for differentially operating the rheostats comprising a bar having cammed surfaces thereon and connections operated by the respective cammed surfaces for exerting 

